Dark Enchantment (Paranormal Erotic Romance) [Paperback]

 

 

Create your own review

Yes I know it's a rubbish title for a review, but seriously. She does.

I was lucky enough to get my hands on an early copy of this anthology, but only lucky in the sense that I had read Cruel Enchantment and was desperate to read this kind of follow up. It's all my favourite sorts of things: fairytales and fantasy worlds and lots of doirty sex.

And Dark Enchantment doesn't disappoint on any score. The stories are by turns sexy and beautiful and cold and lovely and cruel and sweet. In particular I loved the very nasty and disturbingly hot "Cold Hands: Warm Heart", which had such a twang of all the old ghost stories I used to read in high school. Albeit with much more naughtiness in it.

But it isn't just the naughtiness that compels in these stories- as ever with Ashbless the world building is fantastic. Never over done, things just hinted at and not over explained, realistic and earthy and making you want to see more set in the various places in these stories. I can't stop thinking about And Their Flying Machines, which has a steam punk sort of flavour that I don't usually like. But I loved it here. I wanted more from that world, immediatly.

I want more of her writing, which is so refreshing in a genre thick with flowers and froo-frooness. She has such a lovely crisp, frank sort of style that I can't quite describe, but which seems to make everything more tense and interesting.

What more can I say? Buy this book. In fact, don't just buy this book. Buy Cruel Enchantment, too. You won't be sorry you did, unless you're usually sorry when you get all hot and bothered.

I thought that Janine Ashbless had pushed the boundaries as far as she could go, in her collection of erotic stories, CRUEL ENCHANTMENT. I was wrong. In DARK ENCHANTMENT, this wonderful writer goes further. In CRUEL ENCHANTMENT, Janine unashamedly confronted the taboos of bestiality and necrophilia. In DARK ENCHANTMENT, she moves the goal post, easily tackling incest, degradation, humiliation and the cruellest and sexiest bondage scene I've ever read. BDSM at its most extreme. The stories in this collection are no less dark and compelling than in CRUEL ENCHANTMENT; they are exotically erotic, pornographic if you prefer, and wildly, wildly sexy.

In "Scratch," Nicholas Scratch comes calling. He's not a welcome visitor, at least not welcome by Maarten, the owner of the prosperous farm. His wife, Mercy, has told him; "I have a past..." She has made Maarten promise he will not question her about it. He complies, but is bewildered by his wife's submissive behaviour to their handsome visitor. She kneels at Scratch's feet; her humility is confusing and Maarten is angered. He is humiliated when Scratch takes Mercy to the marital bedroom, telling Maarten he is going to have sex with her. This is a tale of degradation, buggery and adultery, as Maarten is ordered into Scratch's game of violation and depravity. Despite himself, Maarten experiences; "a wild sickening arousal..." He succumbs to the Master's demands. There is never a question of not obeying.

I think that "The Red Thread," is the best story that Janine has written. It's a story of love, sex, lust, betrayal and death. It is also wildly erotic. Asterion, is condemned to live for ever in the labyrinth. He is a monster, half man, half bull. His conception is the result of his mother's depraved copulation with a bull. He is the Minotaur. He is secretly visited in the dark labyrinth, by his wilful young sister, Ariadne. She seduces him into an incestuous relationship with her. Finally she betrays him, and Asterion is killed. This is the first Minotaur story I have read, that shows Asterion in a sympathetic light. In the myth, which has been told, and retold so many times, the Minotaur is a creature to be feared and despised. Janine sent me a link to a story by the Spanish writer, Jorge Luis Borges. Borges too, tells the Minotaur story, from Asterion's point of view. Both he and Janine, show a depth of compassion to Asterion, which is quite overwhelming.

I must stress though, that it is not necessary to be familiar with, or have read, the ancient Greek myths to appreciate and understand this story. Janine's story stands on its own. Similarly with another story in the collection; "Ruby Seeds." It's an old myth cleverly retold. Alluring, at times scary, and very sexy. This is another story which stood out for me.

In "Darkling I listen," Janine talks to us about the idea of stories. Stories within stories. A young woman tells a story to a ghoul. Her rhythmic language draws us in to a tale of love and death. Sex and death. A choice of whether to abide in the city of the dead, or the city of the living.

"The Scent of Hawthorn," tells a story of Knights of Olde. Laying down your life for a cause. Herrick is a big man, a knight, tired and war weary. His final quest is to restore a village, shattered by a rebellious dryad; a tree woman. Herrick tells the broken villagers tales of war and glory. He convinces them, and convinces himself that he will be successful and the village will prosper once more. He leaves for the forest on foot, but he has underestimated his adversary. The dryad has him spread and bound. She tortures him and despite his shame, the knight realizes his penis is erect and he suffers the ecstasy, and the final humiliation, of her violating him. She forbids him to come; he does, and that seals his fate.

From an ancient Minoan civilization, Janine moves to the paranormal present day. From a past, rich with dryads, knights and deep woodlands, to a prosperous homestead, Janine's stories are brimming with lust, sex, betrayal, and death, as she skilfully draws out our darkest fears and desires. Janine goes beyond mere fetish, exposing our fatal flaws and secrets. She takes our hidden fantasies, holds up the mirror, and reflects them back to us. We thought we were safe with our little depravities. The stories whisper the unspoken things; the obscenities we nurture, yet deny. Janine's stories are cathartic and we are compelled to listen.

Janine Ashbless is one of the writers to cite whenever your non-erotica-loving friends suggest 'it's just filf innit?' Yes, there is sex, and the sex is hot, and often deliciously transgressive, but you don't have to love erotica to love these stories (though it obviously helps).

Ashbless possesses the art of making elegant, lucid prose appear effortless. Within a few sentences, you are drawn into whichever era, alternative reality or mythological realm the story inhabits - every detail is calculated to convince.

Highlights for me include the 'fever dream' of the final performance in 'Pique Dame'; the biker from the underworld in 'Ruby Seeds'; the chilling (and very chilly) ghost of 'Cold Hands: Warm Heart' and the insatiable ravisher of 'Scratch'. However your tastes tend, I suspect there will be at least one story in here to tempt you.

I strongly recommend that you brave the darkness to find the enchantment.

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

 

4.0 out of 5 stars Great short stories
An excellent collection of well written short stories. Engaging story lines and interesting characters makes this book a great read.

Published 8 months ago by Anna

5.0 out of 5 stars unbelievable imagination!
Dark Enchantment (Paranormal Erotic Romance)

I have to admitt:when i started this book i had no idea what to expect- i had indeed read wildwood but nothing prepared me... Read more

Published 11 months ago by gianna

5.0 out of 5 stars Ashbless is at the Peak of Her Powers
Fasten your metaphorical seatbelts, readers, when you pick up DARK ENCHANTMENT you are in for a bumpy ride! Read more

Published 17 months ago by Madeline Moore

5.0 out of 5 stars Ashblessed
I've read Dark Enchantment slowly over the last few days, but if I'd had a choice I would have sat, consumed by it til it was finished. Read more

Published 23 months ago by Jo

1.0 out of 5 stars too short to bother
These stories are so short there's no time for any story or character development. Don't recommend

Published on 11 Jan 2010 by Caroline

Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

› See all 8 customer reviews on Amazon.co.uk

Search Listmania!